Water heater jacket



June 23, 1953 F. A. McFl-:RRAN 2,642,351

WATER HEATER JACKET Filed June 13, 1950 han. Lag 110.5. J4

w 97,1111 'll/lll TTURNEYS.

Patented lune 23, 1953 UNITED rSTATES PATENT GFFICE WATER HEATER JACKET Frank A. McFerran, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application June 1s, 195o, serial No. '167,777

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a lwater heater jacket. The great majority of gas water heaters for household use are today of the tank type. Generally they consist of a metal tank with an inset bottom so that a burner `may be located beneath the inset bottom of the tank while housed in the lower end of the outer tank walls. They are generally provided with a central flue rising through the tank which serves as an exhaust for the products of combustion and which will normally be connected with a chimney in the house. Water inlet and outlet fittings are provided in the top of the tank and a thermostatic device is let into the tank to control the extent of gas burning. y

The tank proper is generally sheathed in a suitable insulation which may be of glass fibers confined against the tank by means of an outer decorative or painted metal sheath. The insulation is very tightly packed in the space be.- tween the tank proper and the outer sheath so that if for any reason it is necessary to remove the outer sheath it becomes practically impossible to replace the insulation properly.

Where it is necessary to gain access to the tank proper the :plumber must first remove the insulating material and sheath and after he has repaired the tank as may be required it is extremely diilicult for him to reassemble the insulation and the sheath. l

The failure of such water heaters usually results from corrosion or leaking in the tank. Many of the parts of such heaters should theoretically be -salvagable by reason of the fact that, as pointed out above, a tank cannot bevreplaced on thejob. n

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a removable sheath or jacket for agas or electric water heater such that if service on the tank and gain full access to all parts of the water heater without disconnecting any of thettings, and having completed his repair, the plumber can replace the insulating jacket without dimculty. Since most leaks are fitting leaks which require water pressure for their detection, it is highly desirable to be able to remove the jacket Without disconnecting any iittings;

It is another object of the invention to provide a water heaterjacketas above outlined which will Vbe simple to assemble to the water heater tank and which will be equally simple to disassemble from the tank. It is yet anotheriobf ject to provide a jacketconstituted ofam'ixii'- vi0 is required, the plumber may remove the jacket 2 mum number of separable parts for ease in handling.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a two-piece removable jacket, so as to permit shipment of a complete automatic Water heater in knock-down condition for assembly on the job. In this way shipping costs are lowered because of savings in crating .and resultant 'lower freight rates, and of course, the danger oi' damage during shipment is reduced.

'I'hese and other objects which will kbe pointed out in more detail hereinafter or which will vbe apparent Yto oneV skilled in the art upon reading these specications I accomplish by that certain kconstruction and yarrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is made to the drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a 'front elevational view of a. water heater with a jacket according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the same with parts in section to show the construction.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the two parts of the jacketremoved from the tank. y y

Figure 4 is a plan view of the water heater tank and jacket. Y Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 2 on an enlarged scale.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 2. n

Figure 'I is a view similar to Figure 6 showing the separation of the joint.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary front elevational yview of the joint as seen from below in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the jacket members.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention I provide a water heater jacket which, when in assembled condition, will jacket the cylindrical wall and the top of the water heater tank and which comprises two half sections, each thus being semi-cylindrical'in form with one end closed;l and the end portion of each half section vis provided with half openings for the vent pipe'and water fittings. One of the elements isprovided with an aperture for a control window. Each of the half rsections is provided with an annular joint- 'half sections.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings,`the water heater tank is indicated at Il,

and it is mounted on feet I I and is provided with a burner apparatus as at I2 and thermostat as at I3. A central iiue is provided at I4 to carry off the products of combustion. Water fittings are indicated at I5, one being of course the cold Water inlet and the other being the hot Water outlet. The tank I is cylindrical as shown and may have a domed top as at Ia.

According to my invention I provide two half sections 20 and .2I 'which together constitute the entire water heater jacket. One of the members, say the member 20, is provided with an aperture 20a which may be closed by means of a hinged door member 20h. This provides a control window through which the operation of the burner may be observed and through which access may be had to the thermostat. The member 2I is substantially the same as the member 2B except that it does not have the aperture 200.. Each of the members 20 and 2| have a half opening at 22 which half openings together constitute an opening for passage of the vent pipe I4. Each half section also has the half openings 23 which together with the corresponding half openings in the other half section constitute apertures for the passage of the water fittings I5.

Each half section consists of a shell member 24 which may be of sheet metal suitably painted or decorated and a lining 25 of insulating material. The insulating lining 25 may be composed of a suitable insulating material like glass fibers together with a binder which will make the lining self-sustaining so that it will not require an inner sheath member to hold the lining in position. It will be understood that the radius of curvature of the shell members 24 and the configuration of the top portion thereof is such (having in mind the dimensions of the tank itself) that the insulating material 25 will t snugly between the tank I0 and the sheath 24. The insulating lining is glued or otherwise suitably secured to the metal shell member.

Coming now to a description of the joint structure, one of the half sections will be provided with a joint forming element as shown on the right hand side of Figure where the shell 24 is provided at its edge with an offset portion 26. The portion 26 is offset from the surface 24 by the thickness of the material of which the shell 24 is made. rlhis offset flange 24 is formed along the meeting edges of the member 2 I. 'Ihe fiange 26 is interrupted in preferably two or more places as indicated at 26a in Figures 8 and 9 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

The other half section 26 will be provided with a joint formingV element comprisinga ange member 21 which may bespot welded or otherwise suitably secured to the shell 24 of the member 20. The fiange 2l is oiiset so as to be spaced from the shell 24 by an. amount corresponding to the thickness of the material of the shell, and it extends beyond the edge of its shell member and terminates in an outwardly directed bead or flange 28. The distance peripherally between the end of the shell member '24 of the half section 20 and the outwardlydirected bead 28 is such that the offset portion of the fiange 25 may pass therebetween. The edge of the shell 24 of the member 2i) is provided with inturned portions 29 in the regions corresponding to the notches 26a.

In assembly the two half shell elements 20 and 2I are placed` about the tank I0 and the ange 26 of one member is introduced behind the shell -member 24 of the member 20 against the spring of the flange 21. When the jointis pushed home to the position of Figure 5 it will be observed that the bead 28 snaps back behind the offset portion of the flange 26.

A joint of this sort would be very difficult to separate without damaging the shell members were not some special provision made for the separation. To this end there are provided the notches 26a and the portions 29. As seen in Figure 6, a screw driver may -be inserted into the notch 26a and twisted to cause an initial separation of the two half sections. The screw driver will bear on the right hand side against the offset portion of the flange 26 and on the other side it will bear against the doubled portion 29. In this way severe damage to a raw edge of a light gauge shell member is avoided. The location of the screw driver slots may be marked as by arrows 30.

It will be seen that I have provided a joint structure which makes possible a symmetrical two-piece jacket in which the joint itself is most mconspicuous.

It will of course be understood that the portion 29 could be a separate piece of appropriate thickness spot welded in place, rather than being an inturned flange. It will also be clear that the specific features illustrated are by way of example only and do not constitute limitations upon the invention except as specifically set forth in the claims hereafter.

Numerous other modifications will of course suggest themselves to one skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A water heater jacket, in assembly constituting a complete jacket for the walls and top of a water heater, and comprising two members of semi-cylindrical form each having a half-top member, each of said half-top members having half-openings for a vent pipe and for water fittings, one of said semi-cylindrical members having an aperture for a control window, each said member comprising an outer shell member and a lining of insulating material, said members along substantially, the entire length of their meeting side and top edges having cooperating joint-forming elements, the joint forming element on one of said semi-cylindrical members comprising an inwardly offset flange, and the joint forming element on the other semi-cylindrical member comprising a flange along the inside of said shell member, spaced therefrom, extending beyond the edge thereof, and terminating in an outwardly extending bead.

2. A water heater jacket according to claim 1, in which the first mentioned joint forming element has an offset substantially equal to the thickness of the material of said shell member, and in which the flange of the second mentioned joint forming element is spaced from its shell member by substantially the thickness of said shell member.

3. A Water heater jacket according to claim 2, in which the distance between said bead and the edge of the shell member beyond which is extends is substantially equal to the thickness of said shell member.

4. A water heater jacket according to claim 3, in which the fiange on the first mentioned joint forming element is interrupted to permit the insertion of a screwdriver or the like to initiate separation of said semi-cylindrical members.

i 5. A water heater jacket according to claim 4. in which the edge of the shell member is rein- 5 forced opposite the interruption of the ange on References Cited in the le of this patent the first mentioned joint forming element.

6. A water heater jacket according to claim 1, y UNITED STATES PATENTS in which the flange on the first mentioned joint f forming element is interrupted to permit the in- 5 Nu7m4ge3l M Naml t 1 S tnge 19 03 sermon of a screwdriver or the like to initiate 1 525,503 HcGaug @Y e a 11)- 10: 1925 separation of said semi-cylindrical members. 1609858 B31111561' le) 7 1926' FRANK A MCFERRAN 2,371,347 Morrow 3 Mar. 13, 1945 

